SPORTSDESK COMMENT: Daniel Gregory - Lyth can have no complaints

Daniel Gregory

It was no surprise to see Adam Lyth axed from the England squad for their upcoming trip to the UAE to tackle Pakistan.

Die-hard Yorkshire fans will no doubt argue his case, but the fact of the matter is Lyth needs some time out of the firing line and a break from cricket.

Averaging under 13, less than some of the England bowlers and all-rounders, isn’t good enough for a team aiming to hunt down the world’s best Test side, South Africa,

The annoying thing for those of us supporting Lyth is that he looked relatively comfortable at the highest level and a big score looked imminent - but it just never surfaced as the Whitby man continued to nibble outside his off-stump.

Patience clearly isn’t a virtue of the England selectors following the short stays of execution enjoyed by a plethora of England’s recent opening batsmen.

Nick Compton, Michael Carberry, Sam Robson, Jonathan Trott and now Lyth have fallen under the ECB’s axe, and it wasn’t surprising to see Alex Hales take up his place in the squad.

Lyth averaged a lot less than his predecessors, but it was the all too familiar way he was being dismissed that was the main cause for concern.

If you strung together a reel of Lyth’s dismissals throughout the Ashes series then you’d be forgiven for thinking you were watching replays of the same edge behind to the wicketkeeper or slip cordon.

He clearly needs to go away and work on his technique and shot selection outside the off-stump and will no doubt come back a better player, and a player more equipped to be a success at the very top level of the game.

The worrying thing for Lyth is that it took him a year or two longer than it should’ve done to get into the Test side.

He literally had to smash the door down to get into the side and the worry is that his face doesn’t fit in the corridors of power at the ECB.

Now that he’s failed on the biggest of stages, my worry is that no matter how many runs he gets back in Yorkshire’s side, and he’ll get plenty, he’ll never get a second shot and that’s his Test career done.

Had he played in the West Indies instead of carrying the drinks, who knows what might’ve happened.